You can probably guess how I spent my time for the last three days. Friday was busy getting everything ready for Robyn’s retirement party, Saturday was the party, and today was cleanup from the party. Whew!
One of the things I helped set up was the remembrance table. Robyn had kept a scrapbook of her Army years, there were a couple of framed pictures, and we configured the soldier saluting the flag in the middle. On Friday night, my oldest son Dan with his wife Crystal, my youngest son Andy with his daughter Ruby, and my ex-husband arrived from Minnesota. Dan and Crystal camped out in a tent in the back yard while Andy and Ruby joined us to sleep inside the house. We had quite the boisterous group, and I had all three kids to visit with.
We put up a canopy in the driveway with tables and chairs underneath. There were more tables in the garage, and plenty of seating in the back yard around the pool. The décor was decidedly patriotic. Tons of food had been ordered, and many relatives and friends brought scrumptious dishes as well. The cake depicted a set of dog tags with her entry date and retirement date along with her Sergeant First Class stripes.
The set up was running pretty smoothly until we opened the box with the cake. Can you believe they spelled her name wrong? On the right hand section it read Robyn Lark instead of Robyn Lapko. You can bet that a last minute run back to the cake maker ensued for the correction.
The hours for the party were from 11:00 a.m. until 11:00 p.m., and it wasn’t long before people started showing up. I’m certainly not going to tell you who all the people in this and the ensuing pictures are because I didn’t even know most of them. I will, however, point out some for you to take note of. 
That’s my sister, Pam, and b-i-l, Stan, in the top left picture. Retiree Robyn along with Phoebe in the bottom right. I think Dennis’ latest estimate of how many people attended is about 82. That’s a lot of folks!
Tons of kids were visitors, and you can see where all of them ended up. Andy and Ruby are in the top middle. With that many kids and the pool being used for about nine hours, it wasn’t a surprise that the water was looking a bit cloudy by the end. 
It was a great party, and all of us were pretty done in by the end. I’m very proud and thankful that Robyn was willing and able to serve her country for twenty years. Because of her and countless others that have been committed to defend our freedoms, we continue to benefit as citizens of what I think is the greatest country on earth. (Being the mother of three children that have either served or are still serving, I am admittedly biased and make no excuses for that.)
Thanks for stopping by… talk to you later, Judy
